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Oregon jumps Fla. State for No. 2 in BCS standings

Even though Florida State beat North Carolina State 49-17 on Saturday, Oregon passed the Seminoles for the No. 2 spot in the BCS standings released Sunday.

Oregon, which was third in the BCS standings last week behind Florida State, got a boost from the BCS computers based on its strength of schedule as it recorded a 42-14 victory over a UCLA team that is 5-2 and ranked No. 20 in the BCS this week.

Alabama retained the No. 1 spot in the BCS, and it holds a clear edge over both Oregon and Florida State, which is No. 3 this week. Ohio State is fourth in the BCS, and the top four teams all hold the same positions they occupy in this week's Associated Press and USA Today coaches poll.

Stanford is No. 5 in the BCS standings, and is the highest-ranked one-loss team.

The top two teams in the BCS standings at the end of the season will play for the national championship.

The BCS standings are based on three components: the USA Today coaches poll, the Harris poll and an average of the BCS computers.

Fresno State and Northern Illinois are 16th and 17th, respectively, in the BCS standings. That is significant because they are both from conferences that do not receive automatic berths to one of the five BCS games. However, if one finishes among the top 12 in the BCS standings, it is guaranteed a berth in a BCS game. If both finish in the top 12, the higher ranked team gets a BCS berth and the other does not.

A team from a non-automatic qualifying conference can also earn a BCS game berth if it is among the top 16 in the final BCS standings but is ahead of a champion from one of the six automatically qualifying conferences.

This is the final year for the BCS. Next year a four-team playoff will determine the national champion, with those four participants to be chosen by a selection committee.